What beer are we drinking this week ?

ciaran76 · 04-06-2013 06:08PM

Hop Juice Double IPA - Madison River Brewing Company had this with a pizza last night. Got a pint not knowing it was 9% and no mention from the server either which I thought was unusual.
Anyway from draught it pours a lovely amber colour. Good sweetness in the smell then a hint of alcohol.
First taste was like caramel followed up by the piney hop kick and then alcohol.
Not sure if I like it as I thought it was too alcoholic in taste.

Red Lodge Bent Nail IPA - Another lovely dark amber coloured beer. Smelled more earthy with a slight sweet caramel hint.
A bit slight in everything else. I would call it a middle of the road IPA not too strong on anything but a hint of everything.

BaZmO* · 04-06-2013 08:22PM

ciaran76 wrote: »

Hop Juice Double IPA - Madison River Brewing Company had this with a pizza last night. Got a pint not knowing it was 9% and no mention from the server either which I thought was unusual.
Anyway from draught it pours a lovely amber colour. Good sweetness in the smell then a hint of alcohol.
First taste was like caramel followed up by the piney hop kick and then alcohol.
Not sure if I like it as I thought it was too alcoholic in taste.

Red Lodge Bent Nail IPA - Another lovely dark amber coloured beer. Smelled more earthy with a slight sweet caramel hint.
A bit slight in everything else. I would call it a middle of the road IPA not too strong on anything but a hint of everything.

What type of price range are craft beers in the US Ciaran?

Micky Dolenz · 04-06-2013 08:30PM

This was recommended to me so decided to give it a shot.

Duvel, Triple Hop 2013. 9.5% Vol.

Big foamy head that disappears quickly. Golden cloudy colour.Seemed gassy on the pour but settles nicely. Tastes like regular Duvel with added tanginess, nice and refreshing with only a hint of an after taste. Citrus, hops and yeasty. It's nice.

I would probably not drink a lot of it due to the high Vol.

7/10
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ciaran76 · 04-06-2013 09:27PM

BaZmO* wrote: »

What type of price range are craft beers in the US Ciaran?

Good question BaZmo they can be shocking to very reasonable. I found in the off licence the prices are quite reasonable especially if you buy a 6 pack of the same beer/brewery.

I found a lot of places do a mixer 6 pack for $10 which I like.

But if you go to a bar then its beer price + tip.

I have a few receipts beside me so examples from bars would be :

Summit IPA $4.75 for a US pint (tip extra)
Sierra Nevada Abbey Saison $5.75 for in a tulip glass (tip extra)
Black Shox Porter $6.50 US pint (tip extra)
Feast Like A Sultan IPA $7.50 US pint (tip extra)
Deschutes Porter $6.00 US pint (tip extra)
Hop Juice Double IPA $9.00 US pint (tip extra)

BaZmO* · 04-06-2013 09:31PM

ciaran76 wrote: »

Good question BaZmo they can be shocking to very reasonable. I found in the off licence the prices are quite reasonable especially if you buy a 6 pack of the same beer/brewery.

I found a lot of places do a mixer 6 pack for $10 which I like.

But if you go to a bar then its beer price + tip.

I have a few receipts beside me so examples from bars would be :

Summit IPA $4.75 for a US pint (tip extra)
Sierra Nevada Abbey Saison $5.75 for in a tulip glass (tip extra)
Black Shox Porter $6.50 US pint (tip extra)
Feast Like A Sultan IPA $7.50 US pint (tip extra)
Deschutes Porter $6.00 US pint (tip extra)
Hop Juice Double IPA $9.00 US pint (tip extra)

Cheers. Not super crazy, but certainly not super cheap either.

I take it that tips in craft beer places don't work the same as tips in NY bars in that you too for say the first 3 beers then the 4th is free?

ciaran76 · 04-06-2013 09:44PM

BaZmO* wrote: »

Cheers. Not super crazy, but certainly not super cheap either.

I take it that tips in craft beer places don't work the same as tips in NY bars in that you too for say the first 3 beers then the 4th is free?

Haven't seen that here to be honest or when I was in Atlanta last year.

Most "normal" bars here seem to have a good range of craft beers.

I did go to a horrible bar where all beers (usual Bud/Miller/Coors and Sam Adams) were :
$1.00 from 8-9
$2.00 from 9-10
$3.00 from 10-11
$4.00 from 11-12
$5.00 from 12-1 and bar closes at 1am.

I got there at 11pm and the place was a mess.

adamski8 · 04-06-2013 09:53PM

Had a few tonight in farrigntons

brewdog abstract (11.3% sherry barrel aged imperial)-just like the whole barrel aged craze it wasnt for me but quiet smooth for what it was.

Mikeller gold also-not the most pleasent

Rogue dead guy ale- way to sweet and not to my taste

To ol raid which was a fab hopped pilsner, super smooth although expensive

McChubbin · 04-06-2013 09:55PM

Just tried Molson's Canadian Larger. It's 4% volume and has a smooth, slightly malty taste. Not too heavy on the palette (or gut for that matter) and goes great with a sald.

BaZmO* · 04-06-2013 10:03PM

McChubbin wrote: »

Just tried Molson's Canadian Larger. It's 4% volume and has a smooth, slightly malty taste. Not too heavy on the palette (or gut for that matter) and goes great with a sald.

Had a couple of cans of it over at a friends last week. Nothing much too it tbh, just your typical macro fare. Not too dissimilar to Fosters in a can, which I'm actually quite fond of. God bless those student days.

McChubbin · 04-06-2013 10:05PM

I'm interested in trying a dark wheat beer. Can anyone recommend any? I'm fond of the ERdinger series of brews but I'm looking to expand my pallette outside of German fare.

Micky Dolenz · 04-06-2013 10:11PM

Quintine Amber 8.5% Vol.

Amber beer, Loses it's head quickly. A very subtle malty and herbs flavour with a balanced hoppy after taste. Very nice indeed. Could drink a few of them, no bother.

7/10

Vedett, 5.2% Vol

Styles itself as a blonde but it tastes more like a pils or lager. Gassy and kinda tasteless/ A drink you could drink all night and be grand. One cool thing about it is, The bottles carry pics of Vedett drinkers. They send out photographers and they snap away. If you manage to make it on a bottle you get a free case or two.

Bit meh overall.

4/10

ASJ112 · 04-06-2013 10:17PM

How much did you pay for those beers adamski ? I like farringtons but they can be even worse than ATG price wise

Ipso · 04-06-2013 10:49PM

Had the following at the weekend in New York:
Heartlands Brewery Cornhusker Lager, really liked this. It had a sweet malty taste. Their Oatmeal Stout is also good.
Went to a bar called The Three Monkeys which has about 30 types of craft beers, I had the Left Hand Milk Stout which is amazing.
I also tried two IPA's; Brew Free or Die's 21st ammendment and Rounders All day IPa. Both were nice but I preferred the 21at ammendment. Unfortunately they didn't have Ballast Point's Sculpin Head IPA which is excellent

Scortho · 05-06-2013 12:10AM

McChubbin wrote: »

I'm interested in trying a dark wheat beer. Can anyone recommend any? I'm fond of the ERdinger series of brews but I'm looking to expand my pallette outside of German fare.

You wont go wrong with Weihestephenar dunkel. Available in most good offys and tesco (picked up 20 when they were a euro each).
Also check out their normal hefe.
Others to try include franziskaner (1.89 in lidl) and Schneider Weiss (tap 7 readily available but other taps are nicer except 3)
God I miss Berlin and sub 1 euro wheat beers!:(

adamski8 · 05-06-2013 06:49AM

ASJ112 wrote: »

How much did you pay for those beers adamski ? I like farringtons but they can be even worse than ATG price wise

A lot! But i only got halfs of the last two.

ciaran76 · 05-06-2013 09:57PM

Have not tried these but seen these on a menu last night :

Black & Tan (Guinness & Bass)
Black & Blue (Guinness & Blue Moon)
Black & Brown (Guinness & Newcastle)
Black & Honey (Guinness & Honey Weiss)
Honey & Blue (Honey Weiss & Blue Moon)

In North Dakota they like to mix their drinks. I seen a lady drink Bud or Coors with Olives.
I had to ask her what she was drinking and she told me she sometimes put pickles in her beer instead of olives. Seems its pretty common around these parts and I am the weird one cos I don't do it.

Micky Dolenz · 05-06-2013 10:13PM

I was in Malaysia and a common tipple was flat Guinness and Jack Daniels, drank from jugs.

ciaran76 · 05-06-2013 10:18PM

Micky Dolenz wrote: »

I was in Malaysia and a common tipple was flat Guinness and Jack Daniels, drank from jugs.

I just got a little sick in my mouth after reading that :eek:

Micky Dolenz · 05-06-2013 10:21PM

ciaran76 wrote: »

I just got a little sick in my mouth after reading that :eek:

Yeah, it looked vile. They were surprised we wouldn't try it considering we were Irish. The Guinness just looked stale with a very thin yellowish top.

nice

ciaran76 · 05-06-2013 10:28PM

Micky Dolenz wrote: »

Yeah, it looked vile. They were surprised we wouldn't try it considering we were Irish. The Guinness just looked stale with a very thin yellowish top.

nice

The problem with being Irish abroad people assume you will drink Guinness any way they serve it.

Micky Dolenz · 05-06-2013 10:31PM

ciaran76 wrote: »

The problem with being Irish abroad people assume you will drink Guinness any way they serve it.

Yeah, I was in a bar in a small town in Oz and the owner kept sending pints of Guinness down to us, on the house and coming down for a chat. I rarely drink it at the best of times and it was rank. I kept having to slip to the jacks to pour some of it

ciaran76 · 05-06-2013 10:37PM

Micky Dolenz wrote: »

Yeah, I was in a bar in a small town in Oz and the owner kept sending pints of Guinness down to us, on the house and coming down for a chat. I rarely drink it at the best of times and it was rank. I kept having to slip to the jacks to pour some of it

The flip side is you can go to some bars and chance your arm to try a stout/porter and when they hear the accent they let you test them all and tell them you preferred 1 or 2 over Guinness and might get a freebie.

Especially craft bars or the brewery bars themselves.

Micky Dolenz · 05-06-2013 10:40PM

ciaran76 wrote: »

The flip side is you can go to some bars and chance your arm to try a stout/porter and when they hear the accent they let you test them all and tell them you preferred 1 or 2 over Guinness and might get a freebie.

Especially craft bars or the brewery bars themselves.

I must try that next time

The last few times I have been back in Dublin I have noticed that there is a lot of bars now carrying craft beers on draught. Which ones would you recommend?

The last few times I have been home I have been beer free and solely drank whiskey.

ciaran76 · 05-06-2013 10:47PM

Micky Dolenz wrote: »

I must try that next time

The last few times I have been back in Dublin I have noticed that there is a lot of bars now carrying craft beers on draught. Which ones would you recommend?

The last few times I have been home I have been beer free and solely drank whiskey.

I mainly stick to the Northside.
My local for a long time was Mulligans in Stonybatter.
I have moved up to Kavanagahs on Dorset street now. Same owners.

Southside has great pubs too like:
Bull and Castle , Farringtons, The Palace ,Against the Grain and Porterhouse.

When I am in Brussels I started drinking in Supra Bailly last time I was there. Cant believe I missed this bar and have been there 100's of times.
Would you recommend anywhere else?

Micky Dolenz · 05-06-2013 11:02PM

Delirium has to be seen just for the spectacle. Has over 2000 beers and collects beer trays which are screwed to the ceiling. Lots of Irish ones from years past. It's beer menu is like a phone directory.

Beer Circus is good too, a lot less touristy but with a smaller menu, saying that.There is still a sh!t load of beers on offer. Serves good food too.

My favourite bar is Au Bon Vieux Temps. It is down a small alley near to Celtica bar. You would miss it if you weren't looking for it. The Beer menu is limited. No beers on Draught, only bottled. but the atmosphere is lovely. Very limited English spoken but it doesn't really matter. The beer they do have is lovely and the surroundings are class. Looks like the inside of a church, arches, big stained glass windows, churchy furniture. Like drinking in a small church. Only down side are the toilets.

ciaran76 · 05-06-2013 11:10PM

Micky Dolenz wrote: »

Delirium has to be seen just for the spectacle. Has over 2000 beers and collects beer trays which are screwed to the ceiling. Lots of Irish ones from years past. It's beer menu is like a phone directory.

Beer Circus is good too, a lot less touristy but with a smaller menu, saying that.There is still a sh!t load of beers on offer. Serves good food too.

My favourite bar is Au Bon Vieux Temps. It is down a small alley near to Celtica bar. You would miss it if you weren't looking for it. The Beer menu is limited. No beers on Draught, only bottled. but the atmosphere is lovely. Very limited English spoken but it doesn't really matter. The beer they do have is lovely and the surroundings are class. Looks like the inside of a church, arches, big stained glass windows, churchy furniture. Like drinking in a small church. Only down side are the toilets.

I like Delirium when I am with 1 or 2 people.
I like the look of Au Bon Vieux Temps looks very nice.

Micky Dolenz · 05-06-2013 11:20PM

Delirium can get too packed of an evening though. Nice to visit early in the day.

There is another bar not far from Vieux temp, literally across the street, the name escapes me now but it sits on a corner, right on the street. A mate of mine loves it. It is a German style drinking house. Long benches and tables with bright lighting. It does serve a wonderfully interesting drink. It is a mixture between cider and beer and is served in large jugs. Surprisingly quite pleasant. Not sure about its beer selection as we only go in there to drink that. my mate is a huge fan of it

I must get the name for you.

Micky Dolenz · 06-06-2013 12:06AM

Watou Triple 7.5 ABV.

As the name suggests it is a triple. Big head and a lovely orangey/amber colour. It smells kinda fruity but isn't to the taste. Is lovely and well worth a try if you come across it. Would drink it again.

7/10

Leffe Royale 7.5 ABV.

Pours with a flat head. An amber colour. It is a lovely beer. Bitter and smooth all in one and probably one of my most favourite beers and one I drink on a fairly regular basis. Full of flavour, lots of contrasts but it works.

Well worth a try .

9/10

Martyn1989 · 06-06-2013 05:30AM

A chain of Irish bars in Calgary do a 'flying guinness', a pint glass half red bull with guinness layered on top, apperently you don't have to use a spoon to layer it because red bull is so sugary, I presume it's meant to be downed. I can't bring myself to try it.

ciaran76 · 06-06-2013 12:06PM

Martyn1989 wrote: »

A chain of Irish bars in Calgary do a 'flying guinness', a pint glass half red bull with guinness layered on top, apperently you don't have to use a spoon to layer it because red bull is so sugary, I presume it's meant to be downed. I can't bring myself to try it.

Oh that sounds wrong on so many levels.

What beer are we drinking this week ?

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